Firi moved towards Instructor Haren and her superior, inhaling slow and deep to calm herself. She stepped in between them, as many others had before, avoiding eye contact.

“Loosen up,” the instructor said. “Magic is about focus and flow.”

She glanced up at the woman who was at least two heads taller than her, expecting to meet scornful eyes. But her eyes held no such emotion. Her words were harsh, her physique terrifyingly strong, but her gaze was far gentler. Firi wanted to learn more about the noblewoman in front of her, a woman whose actions didn’t match her words.

The instructor held Firi’s hands between them, elbows bent. Firi felt even smaller than before, her hands tiny compared to the instructor’s. She wished her hands grew larger from the few years of tilling soil and splitting firewood, but they didn’t. She liked helping her father, but she hated how her hands became almost as rough as shattered stone.

Instructor Haren pried her hands open and stopped to stare at them. She traced her thumb along the tiny palms, the tender touch unfamiliar to the girl, as only her father would provide such closeness. It was foolish to consider her own hands as rough, they were nothing more than gentle hills when compared to the instructor’s jagged mountains and valleys. A few years of farmwork couldn’t even come close to what seemed like several years of combat training.

“You have good hands,” the instructor said, the soft words drifting into the wind.

Instructor Haren held the palms of Firi’s hands upwards, pinching the center of them with her thumbs. The man behind Firi placed his hand square on her back, it being much larger than she expected.

“Close your eyes and don’t resist,” she instructed, returning to her former stern demeanor.

Firi closed her eyes and waited. She understood now. It wasn’t pain the others were feeling, it was magic itself taking hold of their bodies.

She felt an indescribable energy permeate from her back, collecting into a dense cluster of scorching heat in the center of her chest. As it flowed from the core of her body and out towards her limbs, the energy changed in nature, now much colder and turbulent. Her muscles twitched as the storm passed through her flesh, the bubbling torrent crashing at every turn. She could feel her control of her body slip away, as the energy pooled at her feet, draining her vigor. She could also feel the same sensation in her palms, where Instructor Haren’s thumbs pressed into her skin.

It felt as if she stood there for longer than necessary before the magic in her veins finally stopped moving. Firi opened her eyes as the man lifted his hand off her back, but Instructor Haren remained still, eyes closed.

“Hm.”

She watched the instructor’s face contort, deep in thought. After several seconds, the silence was broken.

“Fire affinity. Meet with any of the students on the left in the second row. They all know fire.”

She didn’t know what to think. How? She felt a cool current flow through her veins. Was that water magic or was it just how magic felt in general? She walked towards the senior students kneeling on the ground, her steps more uncertain than before.

She wasn’t sure, but their red coats were likely reserved for seniors, and the number of gold bands on each cuff was probably how close they were to graduating. Many of them appeared annoyed to be teaching magic to commoners, their lack of enthusiasm manifesting as blank and tired faces. The exception being one student, a beaming smile plastered across his face as he waved at Firi’s approach.

“Hi, I’m Jossi!” said the young man. “Have a seat.”

He patted the ground in front of him, expecting her to choose him. He appeared to be in his late teens, his messy dark-blonde hair tied into a short ponytail. Preferring excessive enthusiasm over apathy, she sat down in front of him, facing away.

“What’s your name?” he leaned forward to make eye contact with her as she turned her head around.

“Firi.”

“That’s a cute name,” he said. “You’re here to learn fire, right?”

“Yeah…” her response trailing off into silence.

“Don’t worry, it’s easy and safe,” he spoke softly. “First, cup your hands together like you’re catching rain.”

They watched as two guards carried a large contraption, placing it in the space in front of the lined-up students. It was a rectangular frame made of metal, about the same proportions as an adult male. Attached to the top at the center of the frame, was the slotted arm of a pendulum. The slot of the arm held a circular weight, currently resting at the bottom.

“I can’t talk to you during the test, so I will explain as quick as possible. I will place my hands on your back like Professor Orvallo,” he pointed to Instructor Haren’s silent superior, “and gift you some fire mana, enough to last the whole test.”

One of the guards slid the pendulum weight up, locking it into a higher position.

“When the spell starts, you will feel heat moving around specific paths inside your chest. It will leave through your hands and create a nice little flame. Copying that flow is how you learn a spell. Makes sense?”

Firi nodded.

Instructor Haren stepped next to the pendulum, a spot that felt predetermined and practiced. Many of the other applicants sat firm and fell silent, not wanting to insult her in any way.

“We will begin the test shortly.” the instructor said, her commanding voice shaking the air itself. “You have one hundred swings of this pendulum to learn the spell chosen by your assigned student. They should have explained the process to you. After that, the second half of the test will be hands off, and you must perform the spell on your own.”

Instructor Haren scanned the students for their readiness as a guard pulled the pendulum up to one side.

“Your time starts now.”

The pendulum fell silently, its arcing motion steady and inevitable.

Firi closed her eyes as Jossi placed both of his hands on her back. Heat radiated from his hands, and she felt her heart swell with warmth, the feeling of his magic kinder and softer than she expected. She didn’t try to stay still, instead focusing all her mental energy on feeling the fire fill her body.

Jossi’s hands changed position and a different feeling emerged from them. The energy around her heart condensed into small rivers, twisting and turning within her chest. It swirled and lingered there, before flowing out towards both of her arms. The heat rippled down them, narrowing and growing more intense. It pooled in the center of her palms for a moment, until it burst out of her skin, pushing her palms downwards.

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She felt the unmistakable radiance of flames licking at her hands, but only for a moment as it quickly fizzled out. She had casted her first spell. Of course, she knew it was more accurate to say that Jossi casted his magic through her.

He let go of her back, as if telling her to try it on her own, despite there being plenty of time left. She focused on the energy still at her heart and tried to condense it like he had, but all she could manage to do was form a few uneven clumps of mana. It was strange, her failure didn’t discourage her at all, it excited her.

Jossi placed his hands back and she took a deep breath this time, as the spell started again from her heart. The path the mana took felt different, maybe containing a few less twists and turns. She let the spell complete itself and exhaled as the fire sputtered out of her palm.

Once again, another inhale, and another attempt to wrangle her magic without the senior student’s help. Another failure.

This time she wouldn’t simply observe. As Jossi influenced the mana collected inside her, she squeezed and pulled at the streams he formed. The hot energy surged faster and raced out of her palms, creating a much larger flame in her hands, the heat reaching her face.

She tried it on her own again. She could finally form her mana into loose strands of energy, though not flowing in the way she wanted. She stopped controlling her breathing, allowing it to fall into a natural rhythm, disconnected from her magic. As they alternated between learning and practicing, she was finally able to move her magic along the same paths that Jossi used. Despite the small scale, conjuring an ember by herself made her incredibly happy. However, it did not last long, evaporating after her brief moment of pride.

“Times up!” Instructor Haren shouted. “Now is the time to show me what you’re worth!”

It felt as if time had passed far too quick, and that she didn’t learn anything at all.

She knew she couldn’t create fire with the same potency as Jossi. Instead, she focused on trying to make a flame last as long as possible. With her eyes still closed, she slowly pulled her mana thinner, finding it much easier to manipulate as it flowed outwards. The fire born in her hands was nothing larger than a candle’s flame, its existence almost imperceptible. She could feel her left arm pull more mana, so she adjusted the flow as best as she could. Her spell teetered back and forth for a while before she finally brought it to a delicate balance.

A shadow blocked the sunlight that fell upon her eyelids, which she assumed was Instructor Haren.

“A small, but persistent flame,” she said. “Good work.”

Firi opened her eyes, breaking her concentration and ending her spell. The instructor smiled at her and turned away, leaving to check on the other candidates.

“I think you passed!” Jossi whispered. “Continuous spells are actually pretty hard, so I’m surprised that you managed do it.”

“Continuous?”

“The spell I was supposed to teach you was a burst spell. The fire goes poof.” He demonstrated the motion with his hands. “Continuous spells are like a very calm river, and you basically have to forget that your body exists. Your breathing, heartbeat, and everything else can cause huge waves, making your spell wonky.”

She considered his words as Instructor Haren walked to the spot she stood in when the test started.

He patted Firi’s head. “You’ll become a strong mage. I know it.”

“The test is now finished!” echoed the instructor’s voice across the courtyard. “Those that I have spoken to have passed. Everyone else has failed.”

Some applicants raised their voices in objection. “How are we supposed to learn magic in this much time?” one said.

“You’re just going to pick the noble!” another added.

The instructor took slow yet forceful strides towards those that spoke. “Do you want to accept failure? Or spend five years in the mines for challenging my decision?”

No person dared to counter her threat. Despite not being the target of her words, Firi still felt the pressure upon her shoulders, her eyes fixated on her own fidgeting hands.

Jossi whispered into her ear. “Don’t worry, she’s not normally this angry.”

“If you have nothing to say then leave,” Instructor Haren commanded.

The majority of the applicants stood up and left without a word, leaving behind five people, including Firi and the one noble boy. There was a girl slightly older than her, and two men around Jossi’s age, all commoners like her.

“Congratulations, new students, and welcome to our academy. Please head over to the registrar to confirm your name and enrollment.” She gestured to a man sitting at a table at the side of the courtyard. “Afterwards, you may meet with the people accompanying you and wish them farewell.”

They stood up, leaving behind the senior students who waited for the next batch of applicants. Firi turned to look at Jossi as she left. He waved at her, his hand far above his head, and moving fast enough to draw the glares of the senior students and Instructor Haren. Firi tried to wave back as discreetly as possible but quickened her pace as everyone turned to look at her.

Sitting at the simple wooden table was a man with several sheets of paper, the same ones Firi saw at the inspection gates. On one side of the table was a pile of small and thin metal plates, and on the other side was a stone block with a rectangular recess. The students in front of her spoke with him briefly and he stamped a metal plate on the block, handing it over. She stepped to the front.

“Full name?”

“Firisae.”

Now closer to the table, she could see that the recess in the block contained a small amount of water. After examining her paper, he placed one hand on the block, and she watched the water coalesce into sharp angles and curves. The shapes in the water solidified into her name with a decorated border, and the man placed the metal plate into the recess. He lifted a pointed mallet and hammered away at the rounded plate, each strike imprinting her name deeper into the metal.

He removed the plate and tied it to a loop of string, handing it over to Firi.

“This is your identification tag. You must wear it at all times,” he said. “There will be an orientation tour after the other groups finish their testing. Classes officially start next week, so be sure to familiarize yourself with our campus.”

She thanked him and left to go meet with her father in the distance.

Firi nearly sprinted at her father, holding the tag up in the air. Her face collided into the rough fabric of his chest, and he rocked backwards from the impact.

“I did it!”

He held and examined her tag, his face showing an unidentifiable expression. Maybe he wanted to see her cast a spell?

She cupped her hands together near his face. She focused on the mana still collected within her core and tried to replicate what she had done during the test, keeping her eyes open to watch for his reaction. She remembered the pathways Jossi had shown her, and she started the spell. In her excitement, the mana she pulled was faster and thicker than she expected. But it was too late. The hot energy rushed down her arms and out of her hands, bursting into a flash of scorching flames.

Her father flinched and fell onto his backside, his face frozen and his eyes distant. It took her a few moments to process what had happened. Firi glanced down at his right arm, before settling her eyes on the ground, her heart twisting itself into a knot. Her ashamed hands fidgeted and fought, as the heat within them drained away. Her voice shivered, her mind no longer thinking of magic.

“Ah…”

Dusting himself off, he stood up and pulled her into a shaky embrace. “It’s okay. Your magic is wonderful.”

The two of them remained quiet and still for a while.

“I’m fine,” he reassured her. “Here, I have a gift for you.”

Pulling away, he removed his bag from his shoulder and dropped it to the ground.

He pulled the short sword she had seen earlier out of his bag and attached it to Firi’s belt, on one of the loops of her right side. Once secured, she gripped the handle and unsheathed it slightly, the blade gleaming in the sunlight. The heavy weight hanging from her waist comforted her, the blade making her feel safe despite her lack of swordsmanship.

“Is this why you made me wear this belt?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Oh, and one more thing.”

From within the large bag, he produced a rectangular bag half the size of her torso and handed it to her. It was constructed from layers of leather, and sandwiched between those layers was what felt like wide strips of metal forming a rigid cage. The entire bag was secured by a large strap, wrapped around like a belt. The handle of the bag was too small for her father to hold, but it fit Firi’s hand perfectly, and she knew he made it just for her.

“This has all your things.”

Had he carried it all this time? Did he have that much confidence in her?

Not knowing what to say, Firi buried herself into his arms again. He stroked her back, the gesture eliciting a muffled ‘thank you’. She raised her head and looked into his eyes, relieved that no fear remained inside them. But she wished she could also see into his heart.

“I can only visit you around this time next year, but I promise to send plenty of letters.”

He smiled at her, the wrinkles of his face smiling too. Firi faked a smile back at him and he released his embrace, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. She waved back at her father as he left through the gate, his figure disappearing within the light on the other side. She stood there, contemplating as her tears dried. She would need to live without him for quite some time.

Behind her, a voice called out, belonging to the approaching noble boy. She turned to face him, the tag hanging from his neck reading ‘Arwende’.

“Done hugging your father?” he scoffed, but she didn’t respond. “What? Did you cry?”

She wanted to punch him right then and there, but her height and figure were a severe disadvantage. Luckily, she had her sword and her magic.